Soon, the University of Tennessee will welcome its largest freshman class in three decades.

Nearly 4,700 freshmen will begin classes on Aug. 20 on the Knoxville campus, which is 400 more than last year.

In all, about 7,400 students will live on campus this fall, about 300 more than last year. While some have already moved to campus, the big move-in day begins Saturday, Aug. 16 at 8 a.m.

Despite the larger class size, the class has a lot of academic achievements to boast: an average ACT score of 27, an average high school GPA of 3.8 or higher, about 43 percent have a high school GPA of 4.0 or higher. Nearly 600 of the freshmen, or about 13 percent of the class, are enrolled in UT honors programs.

"It means that we're attracting the very best students in Tennessee and throughout the nation to come here," said UT Chancellor Jimmy Cheek. "They come here because of the quality of instruction that we offer and the amenities we have, all the way from athletics to study abroad, it's those experiences that cause those students [to] want to come to the University of Tennessee to be students and graduate here."

Cheek said by graduating more students in four years, the university can recruit more freshmen.

"As you move students through the educational process quicker, you can accept more on the front end," he added. "That's why we're able to accept a class like this this year."